The Uneducated Contractor

Created By:

Bradley Davis

Justin Taylor

Mandie Lowe

Jake Crawford

Created By:

Bradley Davis

Justin Taylor

Mandie Lowe

Jake Crawford

Greetings, this is Nucleus Nelson and I'm contacting you to inquire about constructing a cell for me. You see, I've just retired from a long and strenuous career as a full time Bitcoin miner and entrepreneur, so I would like to have somewhere to settle down.

There once was a contractor named Vradley who got an unusual request while checking his DMs...

I don't know that I've ever built a cell, but rest assured I wont let you down. I've never come across a construction project I couldn't do.

Oh, how wrong he would be...

You see, Vradley dropped out of school in 8th grade to follow his dream of becoming a successful contractor. Therefore, he never took biology...

"BORING!"

After a long wait, we finally arrive at the scene of the job site where Nelson will lay out the plans for his dream cell...

"I want the whole sha-bang Vradley. I want all of the fixins', you got me?"

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean Nelson"

But Vradley didn't know. He hoped he could just wing it and get by on the limited amount of knowledge he had on cells, but it wasn't enough...

After sitting around on the job site doing nothing for 2 hours, Vradley decides that it's time to come clean about his lack of cell knowledge...

"Look Nelson, I'm not sure that I know what I'm doing here."

"You've got to be kidding me! I guess I'm just gonna have to explain what to do."

Outraged, but already having given the downpayment for Vradley's services, Nelson decides to try and walk him through the process in contractor's terms...

First things first, we're gonna need to provide some structure. I'll need a cell wall, which is a lot like the walls of a house. Also, while you're at it, go ahead and add in the plasma membrane, which acts like the doors and windows, only it controls the passage of molecules into and out of the cell. We call it "selectively permeable".

Okay so far this is making sense, and we finally have a sturdy foundation built for your new cell.

It's looking good so far, but we still have a long way to go. Next up I want you to add the smooth and rough ER. These two parts of the cell work as a transportation system for the cell, but in your case it would be like the hallways. The smooth ER produces Lipids, and it gets it name from the fact that it doesn't have ribosomes attached to it. On the other hand, rough ER produces proteins and has many ribosomes attached to it, thus it's name.

Woah Woah Woah, you lost me at ribosomes!

Okay Vradley, we're almost ready to add the big guys, we just need to do a few more things. Right now, we're gonna need some cytoplasm. This is gonna be the jelly-like substance that we all float in.

Wait a minute, so you're saying that you guys are going to be floating around in Jelly? How, am I supposed to compare that to building houses?

Well, I would think that it's a lot like the carpet in your own home. I mean, it fills the entire home and everything else sits on it.

Okay Vrad, can I call you Vrad? We've built a solid frame for my dream cell. I think it's about time I introduce you to the others I'll be rooming with.

Okay, this should be interesting. You didn't tell me that you would be sharing the home. I hope it's big enough for everyone!

Oops, must have slipped my mind, but I'm sure you'll like them. I met them in highschool, we all go way back.

Vrad, first off I'd like to introduce you to Mitch, he's a mitochondria from down south.

Well howdy there Vradley, I'm gonna be the powerhouse of our cell. That means I'm gonna be taking in nutrients, breakin' em down, and creatin' molecules full of that good energy! I guess, you could compare me to the generator powering a house.

Wow Mitch, it sounds like you're going to play a big part in the activity of this house, I mean cell, sorry.

The next person I want you to meet is named Valerie. She's a very friendly vacuole who's gonna have a big job in our cell.

Hey there Vradley, it's so great to finally meet you. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you're working on our cell! My job is going to be to store water and a variety of other nutrients for our cell. So if you think about it, I'm kind of like your kitchen cabinets, or any storage for that matter.

I'm sure that your friends are glad to have you around! I don't know what I would do without my pantry full of food.

Now, I'd like to introduce you to Richard the Ribosome. He's cool guy who's got a lot of friends to help him out.

Greetings Vradley, It is going to be my job to produce proteins with the help of my other ribosome buddies. We are going to be spread out across the cell, and also attached to the endoplasmic reticulum. I hope that me and my crew can help keep the cell functioning wonderfully! You could compare me to your kitchen where food is made.

Again, with the talk about food, I'm gonna have to take a lunch break soon!